“Beldum, you can have all of these.”
Shiryu handed over every piece of Exp.
Candy he’d just received from completing the two quests.
“Beldum~!”
Beldum was delighted.
He had grown especially fond of these candies now that he knew they could make him stronger.
After swallowing several pieces, his level began rising again.
[Beldum consumed multiple pieces of Exp.
Candy.]
[Beldum reached Lv.
18!]
[Beldum reached Lv.
19!]
Shiryu checked the experience bar and sighed regretfully.
He was just a little short of Level 20.
Once Beldum reached that point, he would finally evolve into Metang.
“I need to finish another quest.”
Shiryu opened the quest panel.
[Main Quest: Build the world’s greatest Pokémon ranch.]
[Ranch Quest 1: Cultivate 1,000 additional square meters of farmland and expand the ranch’s crop variety.]
[Ranch Quest 2: Catch ten Wooloo.
(7/10)]
[Ranch Quest 3: Build a Wooloo Shelter.]
…
[Side Quest 1: Catch More Varied Ranch Partners.
(8/10)]
[Side Quest 2: Grow and harvest more varieties of crops.
(1/3)]
…
“Hopefully I can finish all three ranch quests today.”
Shiryu was feeling confident.
After washing up, he ate a little bread for breakfast and fed the ranch Pokémon some Wishing Wheat.
Ever since they’d tasted the high-quality grain, ordinary commercial Pokémon food had become much less appealing to the little gluttons.
“Looks like I’m going to need a much bigger Wishing Wheat field.”
Shiryu surveyed the cultivated land and began planning how to divide it.
The five hundred square meters to the west would be dedicated entirely to Wishing Wheat.
To the north, one hundred square meters would hold Heal Herbs, another hundred would be planted with Rolling Beans, another hundred with Sticky Mushrooms, and two hundred square meters would be used for Tiny Bamboo Shoots.
He could continue expanding west and north later to make room for more crops.
“Drilbur’s going to have his work cut out for him.”
The plan itself was straightforward.
The problem was that, aside from the four hundred square meters already planted, Shiryu currently had only another two hundred square meters of cultivated but unused land.
He still needed to open up four hundred more square meters before he could finish planting everything he’d planned.
Once that was done, he should be able to complete [Cultivate 1,000 additional square meters of farmland and expand the ranch’s crop variety.]
Then another problem occurred to him.
Shiryu looked over the planted fields and frowned.
“I don’t have a Water-type Pokémon.
Does that mean I have to water all of this myself?”
He sighed.
Sooner or later, he absolutely needed to catch a Water-type.
For a ranch this size, one would be indispensable.
As if the system had been listening to his complaints, another notification appeared.
[New Side Quest: Catch a Pokémon capable of learning weather-based moves.]
[Quest Description: Weather-based moves can significantly accelerate the growth of crops on the ranch.
A Pokémon skilled at controlling weather will be an invaluable addition.]
[Quest Reward: Weather Move TMs — Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Hail, and Sandstorm.]
…
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
Shiryu clicked his tongue approvingly and went back to work.
By late morning, Zigzagoon had finished sowing all the Tiny Bamboo Shoot Seeds.
The ranch now had eight hundred square meters of cultivated land, six hundred of which had already been planted.
According to Shiryu’s calculations, they should be able to finish cultivating and planting the full thousand square meters sometime that afternoon.
“Scy, scy…”
Shiryu looked over at Scyther, who was carrying another load of lumber across the ranch.
“Good work, Scyther!”
“Scyther!”
Scyther proudly raised both blades, clearly enjoying himself.
He had spent the entire morning cutting trees around the outer edge of the forest.
After felling them, he’d used Fury Cutter to chop the trunks into manageable sections before carrying the lumber back to the ranch.
The wood was being stacked south of the house, where Shiryu planned to build the Wooloo shelter.
“This really is a lot of work.”
Shiryu wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He’d spent the entire morning watering crops by hand, and his arms were beginning to feel it.
Still, whenever he looked around and saw every Pokémon carrying out their jobs in an orderly fashion, the effort felt worthwhile.
Just as Shiryu was preparing to head back inside and start making lunch, he spotted a small furry figure emerging from the forest to the south.
Another Pokémon was floating beside her.
“Hm?”
Shiryu stopped.
There was no mistaking the little Pokémon running out of the forest.
It was Minccino, the orchard thief he’d caught that morning.
But the Pokémon floating beside her immediately caught Shiryu’s attention.
His surprise quickly turned to excitement.
That was an incredibly uncommon Pokémon in Galar.
Castform.
A new status panel appeared.
[Pokémon: Castform (♀)]
[Level: Lv.
10]
[Type: Normal]
[Ability: Forecast — Changes the Pokémon’s form and type to Water, Fire, or Ice depending on the weather.]
[Individual Values: HP (22), Attack (23), Defense (22), Sp.
Atk (23), Sp.
Def (21), Speed (21)]
[Moves: Tackle, Water Gun, Ember, Powder Snow…]
[Held Item: Partially eaten Oran Berry]
[Potential: Gym Tier]
…
“It really is a Castform?!
And she’s still holding the Oran Berry…”
Shiryu looked at Minccino as she hurried toward him, then crouched.
“Minccino, don’t tell me this is the friend you were talking about.”
“Minc~!”
Minccino nodded enthusiastically.
So it really was Castform.
Shiryu turned toward the Pokémon floating in her normal form and smiled in greeting.
“Hello, Castform.
Welcome to my ranch.”
“Castform~”
Castform bobbed gently up and down in front of him, answering his greeting.
Then Shiryu remembered why Minccino had gone to fetch her in the first place.
“Oh, right.
Minccino said you were hurt.
How are you feeling now?”
“Castform~”
Castform indicated that she felt much better after eating the Oran Berry.
Shiryu held out a hand.
Castform didn’t shy away when he gently touched her.
A warm current of Viridian Power flowed into her body.
Compared with an Oran Berry, Viridian Power’s healing effect was far more immediate and thorough.
Within moments, Castform felt as though the last traces of her injuries had disappeared completely.
“Castform~!”
Delighted, she floated several circles around Shiryu as if thanking him.
“There we go.
All better.”
Shiryu smiled.
“I’m going to make lunch now.
Minccino, why don’t you show Castform around the ranch for a while?
You can both eat with us when it’s ready.”
“Minc~!”
“Castform~!”
The two Pokémon obediently nodded.
Shiryu watched them for a moment, unable to keep the smile from his face, then turned and headed back toward the wooden house.
Time to show off his cooking again.